Word Study
incapable
CIDE DICTIONARY
incapable, a. [Pref. in- not + capable: cf. F. incapable, L. incapabilis incomprehensible.].
- Lacking in ability or qualification for the purpose or end in view; not large enough to contain or hold; deficient in physical strength, mental or moral power, etc.; not capable; as, incapable of holding a certain quantity of liquid; incapable of endurance, of comprehension, of perseverance, of reform, etc. [1913 Webster]
- Not capable of being brought to do or perform, because morally strong or well disposed; -- used with reference to some evil; as, incapable of wrong, dishonesty, or falsehood. [1913 Webster]
- Not in a state to receive; not receptive; not susceptible; not able to admit; as, incapable of pain, or pleasure; incapable of stain or injury. [1913 Webster]
- Unqualified or disqualified, in a legal sense; as, a man under thirty-five years of age is incapable of holding the office of president of the United States; a person convicted on impeachment is thereby made incapable of holding an office of profit or honor under the government. [1913 Webster]
- As a term of disgrace, sometimes annexed to a sentence when an officer has been cashiered and rendered incapable of serving his country. [1913 Webster]" Incapable is often used elliptically." [1913 Webster]"Is not your father grown incapable of reasonable affairs?"
Syn. -- Incompetent; unfit; unable; insufficient; inadequate; deficient; disqualified. See Incompetent.
incapable, n.
One who is morally or mentally weak or inefficient; an imbecile; a simpleton. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
incapable, adj.
1 (often foll. by of) a not capable. b lacking the required quality or characteristic (favourable or adverse) (incapable of hurting anyone).
2 not capable of rational conduct or of managing one's own affairs (drunk and incapable).
1 (often foll. by of) a not capable. b lacking the required quality or characteristic (favourable or adverse) (incapable of hurting anyone).
2 not capable of rational conduct or of managing one's own affairs (drunk and incapable).
Derivative
incapability n. incapably adv.
Etymology
F incapable or LL incapabilis (as IN-(1), capabilis CAPABLE)
THESAURUS
incapable
amputee, cripple, defective, deformity, disqualified, dull tool, greenhorn, handicapped person, idiot, ill-equipped, ill-fitted, ill-furnished, ill-provided, ill-qualified, imbecile, impervious to, inadequate, incapable of, incompetent, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficient, inept, inferior, maladjusted, mediocrity, no conjuror, not equal to, not up to, paralytic, paraplegic, quadriplegic, the crippled, the handicapped, unable, unable to, unadapted, unadjusted, unarmed, unendowed, unequal to, unequipped, unfit, unfitted, ungifted, unprovided, unqualified, unsuited, untalentedROGET THESAURUS
incapable
Impotence
N impotence, inability, disability, disablement, impuissance, imbecility, incapacity, incapability, inaptitude, ineptitude, incompetence, unproductivity, indocility, invalidity, disqualification, inefficiency, wastefulness, telum imbelle, brutum fulmen, blank, blank cartridge, flash in the pan, vox et proeterea nihil, dead letter, bit of waste paper, dummy, paper tiger, Quaker gun, inefficacy, failure, helplessness, prostration, paralysis, palsy, apoplexy, syncope, sideration, deliquium, collapse, exhaustion, softening of the brain, inanition, emasculation, orchiotomy, orchotomy, cripple, old woman, muff, powder puff, creampuff, pussycat, wimp, mollycoddle, eunuch, powerless, impotent, unable, incapable, incompetent, inefficient, ineffective, inept, unfit, unfitted, unqualified, disqualified, unendowed, inapt, unapt, crippled, disabled, armless, harmless, unarmed, weaponless, defenseless, sine ictu, unfortified, indefensible, vincible, pregnable, untenable, paralytic, paralyzed, palsied, imbecile, nerveless, sinewless, marrowless, pithless, lustless, emasculate, disjointed, out of joint, out of gear, unnerved, unhinged, water-logged, on one's beam ends, rudderless, laid on one's back, done up, dead beat, exhausted, shattered, demoralized, graveled, helpless, unfriended, fatherless, without a leg to stand on, hors de combat, laid on the shelf, null and void, nugatory, inoperative, good for nothing, ineffectual, inadequate, inefficacious, der kranke Mann, desirous still but impotent to rise, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.For further exploring for "incapable" in Webster Dictionary Online